On the move ➟ Nicola Huggett, pre-
Essay-writing: a skill in crisis
The well-crafted school essay has become a casualty of the social-media boom, according to a leading historian. At a recent exams seminar, Prof David Abulafia of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, described essay-writing as a lost art and laid the blame squarely at the feet of websites such as Twitter and Facebook. ‘People no longer know how to write. What they do write tends to be short mes- sages in a sort of meta-language, with meta-spelling,’ he explained. ‘Even students from top-ranked schools seem to find it very difficult.’ In response to his plea that pupils ‘recover a mastery of prose’, SCHOOL LIFE
asked Vicki Rendall, English teacher at The Royal School, Haslemere, Surrey, to set out her top tips for essay success.
1. Read the question. What’s the essay topic and what is it actually asking you to do? 2. Plan. Once you’ve gathered all your ideas, try to put them into a logical order so that they naturally follow on from each other. A good way of doing this is to transfer your key points to sticky notes and physically rearrange them. 3. Language. Keep it formal. No ‘Like I said earlier’, ‘Me personally I think’ and introducing sentences with ‘So’ and ‘Basically’. 4. Punctuation. If you’re stuck about where to punctuate, read your essay out loud. If you lose your breath, you need a comma or a full stop. Exclamation marks are a no-no. 5. Introduction. Give an overview of the task and your response to the ques- tion. Do not repeat the title, write ‘In this essay I am going to’ (guaranteed to send chills down your teacher’s spine), include irrelevant information or give a lengthy biography. 6. Use PEED. For each Point you make, you need to provide Evidence, Explain it and then offer Development. 7. Link. Use words such as nevertheless, although and whereas to join your ideas together. 8. Summarise. Your conclusion should round off your argument and give a final overview. Don’t introduce any new points and avoid formulas such as ‘In conclu- sion’ followed by a repetition of the title.
viously deputy head of Downe House, Berk- shire, has become the first female head of Blundell’s School in Devon in its 400- year history. ➟ Guy Barrett, formerly deputy head of Rose Hill Westonbirt School has now taken over as headmaster at Heywood Prep, Wiltshire. ➟ Frances King, headmistress of Roedean School is leaving to become director of the Collège Alpin Beau Soleil in Switzerland. ➟ Hampton School, Middlesex, has promoted Kevin Knibbs to headmaster from September. ➟ Martyn Ward, currently deputy head of St Andrew’s School, Sussex, will take over as headmaster of Marl- borough House School, Kent. ➟ Jonathan Whybrow, currently head- master of Beachborough Prep School, Northamptonshire, will become the new headmaster of Cheltenham College Junior School, Gloucestershire. ➟ Mark Waldron, head of The English College in Prague, has been appointed headmaster of Ryde School on the Isle of Wight. ➟ Andrew Inglis, joint head at Ludgrove, Berkshire, will take over at Elstree prep school, Berkshire. William Austen moves from Summer Fields to be deputy at Ludgrove Research by Edmund Magnus
Easter eggs all wrapped up
Gone are the days when your offspring would be content with hunting for a couple of miniscule foil-wrapped offerings in the garden on Easter Sunday.
Dorset dinosaur egg, £12.95, Chococo (01929 421777;
www.chococo.co.uk) Dorset chocolatier Chococo is based a stone’s throw from the Jurassic Coast, which inspired this striking speckled egg. It contains chocolate dinosaurs and ammonites—the perfect treat for bud- ding paleontologists.
Chocolate Easter eggs DIY kit,
www.countrylife.co.uk
£19.75, Cocoapod (01689 834108;
www.cocoapod.
co.uk) Artistic youngsters will be in their element decorating these four flat chocolate eggs with sweets. Included are a bag of chocolate for melting and sticking, brushes, fluffy chicks, cellophane bags and ribbons.
Beau Bunny egg, £15, Hotel Chocolat (0844 493 1313;
www.hotelchocolat.co.uk) Who could resist such a dap- per little fellow? One of the highlights of Hotel Chocolat’s Easter range, this glossy crea-
tion is filled with praline-and-caramel eggs.
Eco Egg, £7.99, Montezuma’s (0845 450 6306;
www.montezumas.
co.uk) This organic egg will get the thumbs-up from
junior conservation- ists—its recyclable packaging has been designed to minimise
waste. Choose
from dark choco- late with cocoa nibs or milk chocolate with butterscotch.
School Life, Spring 2013 59
Zara Napier/GAP Gardens; Getty Images; Dreamstime; Kirsty Pargeter/Alamy
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